We previously covered this story at Yale University, but now the police union adds their voice.

Stephanie Addenbrooke from the Yale Daily News reports.

Police union condemns University response to Blow case

The University’s reaction after a Yale Police Department officer forced Tahj Blow ’16 to the ground at gunpoint has caused friction between YPD officers and the administration.

Two days after the Jan. 24 incident, University President Peter Salovey, Yale College Dean Jonathan Holloway and YPD Chief Ronnell Higgins sent an email to the Yale community promising a thorough investigation into the incident. Moreover, the email stated that “what happened on Cross Campus on Saturday is not a replay of what happened in Ferguson; Staten Island; Cleveland; or so many other places in our time and over time in the United States.”

On Thursday, the Yale Police Benevolent Association — an independent union the represents YPD officers — condemned the administration’s response, saying that it created a presumption of guilt. References to incidences where unarmed men were killed by police officers was disproportional, and had “no place” in a discussion of a simple burglary investigation, the statement said.

Defending the actions of the police officer who drew his weapon, the YPBA argued that the administration’s reaction “has a chilling effect on officer safety and may yield a consequence that results in the death or serious physical injury of one of our officers.”

“We completely support our officer in his actions,” a statement from the YPBA read. “Yale needs to unequivocally support its police officers when their actions are reasonable and appropriate; not sacrifice them for political expediency.”